Safeguarding Children Policy

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) defines a child as everyone under 18 unless, "under the law applicable to the child, majority is attained earlier".

England

In England, a child is defined as anyone who has not yet reached their 18th birthday. Child protection guidance points out that even if a child has reached 16 years of age and is:

• living independently
• in further education
• a member of the armed forces
• in hospital; or
• in custody in the secure estate

they are still legally children and should be given the same protection and entitlements as any other child (Department for Education, 2023)

Northern Ireland

In Northern Ireland, The Children (Northern Ireland) Order 1995 defines a 'child' as a person under the age of 18.

Scotland

In Scotland, the definition of a child varies in different legal contexts, but statutory guidance which supports the Children and Young People (Scotland) Act 2014, includes all children and young people up to the age of 18.

Where a young person between the age of 16 and 18 requires support and protection, services will need to consider which legal framework best fits each persons’ needs and circumstances. The National Guidance for Child Protection in Scotland gives more detail about this and explains how professionals should act to protect young people from harm in different circumstances (Scottish Government, 2023a).

Wales

Section 3 of the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014 states that a child is a person who is aged under 18.

These categories of abuse and neglect are drawn from relevant legislation and statutory guidance. Further detail in respect of individual categories can be found in the following link: Types of abuse.

It is essential that all MHI employees, contractors and volunteers are alert to the signs of abuse and neglect. Unless indicated otherwise, all of the below categories of abuse and neglect are potentially applicable to adults at risk as well as to children.

Abuse

The term abuse is used to describe when a person is intentionally harmed by another. This can be over a period of time but can also be a one-off action. It can be physical, sexual or emotional and it can happen in person or online. It can also be a lack of love, care and attention – this is neglect.

There are four main categories of abuse as follows:

Physical abuse

Physical abuse is when someone hurts or harms an individual on purpose. It includes:

• hitting with hands or objects
• slapping and punching
• kicking
• shaking
• throwing
• poisoning
• burning and scalding
• biting and scratching
• breaking bones
• drowning

It is important to remember that physical abuse is any way of intentionally causing physical harm to a person. It also includes making up the symptoms of an illness or causing a person to become unwell.

Neglect

Neglect is the persistent failure to meet an individual’s basic physical or psychological needs, likely to result in the serious impairment of the individual’s health or development. Neglect may occur during pregnancy, as a result of maternal substance abuse. For children and/or adults at risk, neglect may involve a parent or carer failing to:

• Provide adequate food, clothing and shelter (including exclusion from home or abandonment).
• Protect the person from physical and emotional harm or danger.
• Ensure adequate supervision (including the use of inadequate caregivers).
• Ensure access to appropriate medical care or treatment.

It may also include neglect of, or unresponsiveness to, a person’s basic emotional needs.

Emotional abuse

Emotional abuse is any type of abuse that involves the continual emotional mistreatment of a child or adult at risk. It is sometimes called psychological abuse. Emotional abuse can involve deliberately trying to scare, humiliate, isolate or ignore the individual.

Emotional abuse is almost always a part of other kinds of abuse, which means it can be difficult to spot the signs or tell the difference, though it can also happen on its own.

Emotional abuse includes:

• humiliating or constantly criticising a person
• threatening, shouting at a person or calling them names
• making the person the subject of jokes, or using sarcasm to hurt a person
• blaming and scapegoating
• making a person perform degrading acts
• not recognising a person's own individuality or trying to control their lives
• pushing a person too hard or not recognising their limitations
• exposing a person to upsetting events or situations, like domestic abuse or drug taking
• failing to promote a person's social development
• not allowing them to have friends
• persistently ignoring them
• being absent
• manipulating a person
• never saying anything kind, expressing positive feelings or congratulating a person on successes
• never showing any emotions in interactions with a person, also known as emotional neglect
• serious bullying (including cyber bullying), causing a person frequently to feel frightened or in danger, or the exploitation or corruption of a person.

Some level of emotional abuse is involved in all types of maltreatment of a child or adult at risk, though it may occur alone.

Sexual abuse

In respect of adults at risk, sexual abuse includes the following:

• rape
• indecent exposure
• sexual harassment
• inappropriate looking or touching
• sexual teasing or innuendo
• sexual photography
• subjection to pornography or witnessing sexual acts
• indecent exposure
• sexual assault
• sexual acts to which the person has not consented or was pressured into consenting

Child sexual abuse is when a child is forced or persuaded to take part in sexual activities. This may involve physical contact or non contact activities and can happen online or offline. Children and young people may not always understand that they are being sexually abused.

Contact abuse involves activities where an abuser makes physical contact with a child. It includes:

• sexual touching of any part of the body, whether the child is wearing clothes or not
• forcing or encouraging a child to take part in sexual activity
• making a child take their clothes off or touch someone else's genitals
• rape or penetration by putting an object or body part inside a child's mouth, vagina or anus.

Non-contact abuse involves activities where there is no physical contact. It includes:

• flashing at a child
• encouraging or forcing a child to watch or hear sexual acts
• not taking proper measures to prevent a child being exposed to sexual activities by others
• making a child masturbate while others watch
• persuading a child to make, view or distribute child abuse images (such as performing sexual acts over the internet, sexting or showing pornography to a child)
• making, viewing or distributing child abuse images
• allowing someone else to make, view or distribute child abuse images
• meeting a child following grooming with the intent of abusing them (even if abuse did not take place)
• sexually exploiting a child for money, power or status (child sexual exploitation)

The following points should also be kept in mind:

Those who were sexually abused as children and continue to be abused by perpetrators once they turn 18 should become the subject of a safeguarding adult enquiry if they have not already been subject to safeguarding children procedures.

Even when the sexual abuse, physical abuse and psychological abuse has stopped, many survivors will require some level of care and support as adults, due to the complex personal issues which they suffer as a result of the trauma they experienced. These can include mental ill health, self-harm, problematic use of illicit drugs or alcohol which can be compounded by interrupted education resulting in unemployment or low paid jobs with resulting economic insecurity. They may have already been involved with children’s social care, especially if they have been Children who are Looked After by the Local Authority.

In addition, some young adults may also be vulnerable to organised sexual abuse (OSA); being targeted for the first time as adults not as children. Those who have care and support needs due to learning or physical disabilities, especially if they are in residential accommodation, can be particularly vulnerable to such abuse.

Other Safeguarding concerns

The below sections set out additional circumstances and types of behaviour and events that would present safeguarding concerns. This is not an exhaustive list.

Domestic abuse

Domestic abuse is any type of controlling, coercive, or threatening behaviour, violence or abuse between people who are, or who have been in a relationship, regardless of gender or sexuality. It can also happen between adults who are related to one another and can include physical, sexual, psychological, emotional or financial abuse.

Domestic abuse can include:

• sexual abuse and rape (including within a relationship)
• punching, kicking, cutting, hitting with an object
• withholding money or preventing someone from earning money
• taking control over aspects of someone's everyday life, which can include where they go and what they wear not letting someone leave the house
• reading emails, text messages or letters
• threatening to kill or harm them, a partner, another family member or pet

Domestic abuse always has an impact on children. Being exposed to domestic abuse in childhood is child abuse. Children may experience domestic abuse directly, but they can also experience it indirectly by:

• hearing the abuse from another room
• seeing someone they care about being injured and/or distressed
• finding damage to their home environment like broken furniture
• being hurt from being caught up in or trying to stop the abuse
• not getting the care and support they need from their parents or carers as a result of the abuse

Extremism and PREVENT duty

In respect of extremism, terrorism and radicalisation, MHI follows statutory PREVENT duty guidance. Any concerns about radicalisation and extremist views or behaviours in relation to adults at risk or children must be reported as a safeguarding concern and will be dealt with according to our Tackling Extremism and Radicalisation Policy.

Extremism goes beyond terrorism and includes people who target the vulnerable – including the young – by seeking to sow division between communities on the basis of race, faith or denomination; justify discrimination towards women and girls; persuade others that minorities are inferior; or argue against the primacy of democracy and the rule of law in our society. Extremism is defined in the Government’s Counter Extremism Strategy 2015 as: “the vocal or active opposition to our fundamental values, including the rule of law, individual liberty and the mutual respect and tolerance of different faiths and beliefs. We also regard calls for the death of members of our armed forces as extremist”.

Female genital mutilation (FGM)

Concerns that a child or adult at risk has been, or may be about to be, subjected to female genital mutilation (FGM), fall under this policy and must be reported as a safeguarding concern. FGM involves the partial or total removal of external female genitalia or other injury to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons.

Forced marriage

In forced marriage, one or both spouses do not consent to the marriage and some element of duress is involved. Duress includes both physical and emotional pressure and abuse.

Forced marriage is primarily, but not exclusively, an issue of violence against females. Most cases involve young women and girls aged between 13 and 30, although there is evidence to suggest that as many as 15% of victims are male.

Honour based abuse

The term ‘honour crime’ or ‘honour-based violence’ embraces a variety of crimes of violence (mainly but not exclusively against women), including assault, imprisonment and murder where their family or their community is punishing the person. They are being punished for (actually or allegedly) undermining what the family or community believes to be the correct code of behaviour. In transgressing this purported code of behaviour, the person shows that they have not been properly controlled to conform by their family and this is to the ‘shame’ or ‘dishonour’ of the family.

Peer-on-peer abuse

Peer on peer abuse is most likely to include, but may not be limited to:

• Bullying (including cyberbullying, prejudice-based and discriminatory bullying)
• Abuse in intimate personal relationships between peers
• Physical abuse such as hitting, kicking, shaking, biting, hair pulling, or otherwise causing physical harm (this may include an online element which facilitates, threatens and/or encourages physical abuse)
• Sexual violence, such as rape, assault by penetration and sexual assault (this may include an online element which facilitates, threatens and/or encourages sexual violence)
• Sexual harassment, such as sexual comments, remarks, jokes and online sexual harassment, which may be standalone or part of a broader pattern of abuse causing someone to engage in sexual activity without consent, such as forcing someone to strip, touch themselves sexually, or to engage in sexual activity with a third party
• Consensual and non-consensual sharing of nudes and semi nudes images and or videos (also known as sexting or youth produced sexual imagery)
• Upskirting, which typically involves taking a picture under a person’s clothing without their permission, with the intention of viewing their genitals or buttocks to obtain sexual gratification, or cause the victim humiliation, distress or alarm
• Initiation/hazing type violence and rituals (this could include activities involving harassment, abuse or humiliation used as a way of initiating a person into a group and may also include an online element)

Online harms

Online harm (which includes online abuse and exposure to harmful content) is any type of harm that happens on the internet, facilitated through technology such as computers, tablets, mobile phones and other internet-enabled devices.

It can happen anywhere online that allows digital communication, such as, but not limited to:

• social networks
• text messages and messaging apps
• email and private messaging
• online chats
• comments on live streaming sites
• voice chat in games
• social media platforms

The breadth of issues classified as relating to online safety is considerable. They can be categorised into four principal areas of risk:

• Content: being exposed to illegal, inappropriate or harmful content (for example, pornography, fake news, racism, misogyny, self-harm, suicide, anti-Semitism, radicalisation and extremism).
• Contact: being subjected to harmful online interaction with other users (for example, peer to peer pressure, commercial advertising and adults posing as children or young adults with the intention to groom or exploit others for sexual, criminal, financial or other purposes).
• Conduct: personal online behaviour that increases the likelihood of, or causes, harm (for example, making, sending and receiving explicit images, including the consensual and non-consensual sharing of nudes and semi-nudes and/or pornography, sharing other explicit images and online bullying).
• Commerce: risks such as online gambling, inappropriate advertising, phishing and / or financial scams.

Exploitation

The below sections set out examples of exploitation that raise safeguarding concerns as well as constituting, in many cases, criminal activity on the part of the perpetrator(s).

Child sexual exploitation (CSE)

CSE can happen in person or online. An abuser will gain a child's trust or control them through violence or blackmail before moving on to sexually abusing them.

When a child is sexually exploited online they might be persuaded or forced to:

• send or post sexually explicit images of themselves
• film or stream sexual activities
• have sexual conversations.

Once an abuser has images, video or copies of conversations, they might use threats and blackmail to force a young person to take part in other sexual activity. They may also share the images and videos with others or circulate them online.

Gangs use sexual exploitation:

• to exert power and control
• for initiation
• to use sexual violence as a weapon.

Children or young people might be invited to parties or gatherings with others their own age or adults and given drugs and alcohol. They may be assaulted and sexually abused by one person or multiple perpetrators. The sexual assaults and abuse can be violent, humiliating and degrading.

County lines

As set out in the Government’s Serious Violence Strategy, published by the Home Office, county lines is a term used to describe gangs and organised criminal networks involved in exporting illegal drugs into one or more importing areas within the UK, using dedicated mobile phone lines or other form of ‘deal line’. They are likely to exploit children and adults at risk to move and store the drugs and money, and they will often use coercion, intimidation, violence (including sexual violence) and weapons.

Child criminal exploitation

As further set out in the Government’s Serious Violence Strategy, where an individual or group takes advantage of an imbalance of power to coerce, control, manipulate or deceive a child or young person under the age of 18 into any criminal activity: (a) in exchange for something the victim needs or wants; and/or (b) for the financial or other advantage of the perpetrator or facilitator; and/or (c) through violence or the threat of violence, the victim may have been criminally exploited even if the activity appears consensual. Child criminal exploitation does not always involve physical contact; it can also occur through the use of technology.

Cuckooing

Cuckooing is a practice where people take over a person’s home and use the property to facilitate exploitation such as drug-dealing. It takes the name from cuckoos who take over the nests of other birds.

Victims of ‘cuckooing’ are often drug users but can include older people, those suffering from mental or physical health problems, female sex workers, single parents and those living in poverty. Victims may suffer from other forms of addiction, such as alcoholism, and are often already known to the police. Dealers often approach the victim offering free drugs in return for using their home for dealing.

Once they gain control, gangs move in with the risk of domestic abuse, sexual exploitation and violence. Children as well as adults can be used as drug runners. It is common for gangs to have access to several addresses. They move quickly between vulnerable people’s homes for just a few hours, a couple of days or sometimes longer. This helps gangs evade detection. By ‘cuckooing’, the criminals can operate from a discreet property which is out of sight, making it an attractive option. They can then use the premises to deal and manufacture drugs in an environment under the police radar. These gangs may use accommodation in rural areas, including serviced apartments, holiday lets, budget hotels and caravan parks.

When the criminals use the victim’s property for criminal enterprises, the inhabitants become terrified of going to the police for fear of being suspected of involvement in drug dealing or being identified as a member of the group, which would result in their eviction from the property. Some adults at risk may be forced to leave their homes, making themselves homeless and leaving the gangs free to sell drugs in their absence.

Organ harvesting

The trafficking in organs involves removing a part of the body, commonly the kidneys or a lobe of the liver, to sell often as an illegal trade. Organs can be taken illegally in a number of ways:

• Trade – a victim formally or informally agrees to sell an organ, but are then cheated because they are not paid for the organ, or are paid less than the promised price
• Ailments – a vulnerable person is treated for an ailment, which may or may not exist, and the organs are removed without the victim’s knowledge.
• Extortion – a victim may be kidnapped from their family and organs removed without consent.

Forced criminality

Forced criminality occurs when somebody is forced to carry out criminal activity through coercion or deception. Forced criminality can take many forms, including forcing a person to carry out the following:

• Drug trade (such as cannabis cultivation, drug distribution)
• Begging
• Pickpocketing
• Bag snatching
• ATM theft
• Selling counterfeit goods

Forced criminality also encompasses social welfare fraud. This takes place when exploiters falsely apply for tax credits and other welfare benefits using the victim's details. It is not only the state that is the victim of social welfare fraud; there is often abuse used against the individual in order to coerce them into falsely applying for benefits.

Modern slavery

Modern slavery is a form of exploitation that both adults at risk and children may be subject to. This is referred to in more detail in our Modern Slavery Statement.

Disclosures of non-recent abuse

MHI recognises the long-lasting impact of historical abuse. Where possible we aim to identify any ongoing risks to the survivor as well as any other individuals. We aim to follow our reporting guidelines where others may still be at risk.

Trustees

The Charity Commission stipulates that safeguarding should be a leading priority for all trustees. As part of their duties, trustees should ensure that MHI:

• Has suitable safeguarding policies and practices in place which everyone understands and uses, including making sure everyone knows how to identify and report a concern or incident.
• Carries out necessary checks to ensure that staff and volunteers are recruited safely.
• Protects volunteers and staff, including by having clear policies on bullying and harassment and whistleblowing.
• Handles and reports incidents in a secure and responsible way, acting quickly to ensure that any further harm or damage is stopped or minimised and reported to all relevant agencies.

Trustees are required to take reasonable steps to ensure that anyone who comes into contact with the charity is not exposed to any abuse or harm.

One trustee must fulfil the role of Designated Trustee for Safeguarding (DTS), and take responsibility for safeguarding governance and practice. This trustee:

• Reviews safeguarding practice quarterly with the Head of Safeguarding and Clinical Director to maintain an overview of safeguarding performance.
• Provides advice on whistleblowing and complex safeguarding matters.
• Follows up on risks and any policy gaps identified.
• Alongside the Clinical Director, ensures that all Board members are fully briefed on safeguarding issues across the organisation.

Chief Executive Officer (CEO)

The CEO of MHI is responsible for:

• Ensuring all staff are aware of their safeguarding responsibilities
• Ensuring that MHI’s safeguarding policies are tailored to the organisation’s activity and level of risk, and are compliant with relevant legislation and statutory guidance
• Ensuring that trustees report serious safeguarding incidents to the Charity Commission where appropriate to do so
• Ensuring compliance with the PREVENT duty - MHI must have ‘due regard to the need to prevent people from being drawn into terrorism’ - and ensuring that trustees are aware of this duty and act in compliance with relevant legislation and statutory guidance
• Following guidance from the government about the recruitment and appointment for new charity trustees, including background checks, assessing whether there are any conflicts of interest, and whether trustees have been disqualified from acting as a trustee
• Ensuring that robust checks are undertaken on employees and volunteers before they are appointed. Depending on the nature of their role, this may include references, background checks and/or qualification checks

Clinical Director

The Clinical Director holds lead responsibility for safeguarding within MHI’s Senior Management Team and is responsible for:

• Ensuring that safeguarding is considered in strategic decision-making
• Reporting any significant safeguarding issues to the CEO
• Ensuring that safeguarding issues and/or concerns are reported, where appropriate, to the external agencies stipulated in this safeguarding policy
• Ensuring that the trustees are provided with a report on safeguarding activity quarterly
• Commissioning an external audit of safeguarding practice every three years, and planning and monitoring resulting actions alongside the Head of Safeguarding
• Dealing with allegations of violation of MHI’s safeguarding policies and conducting any relevant investigations
• Leading complex investigations along with the Head of Safeguarding relating to safeguarding where there is significant risk of reputational damage to the organisation

Head of Safeguarding

MHI’s dedicated Safeguarding Panel is led by the Head of Safeguarding who is responsible for:

• Leading on ensuring a robust safeguarding culture so that those who come into

contact with MHI and its services are protected from harm.

• Acting as the Designated Safeguarding Lead for MHI and providing reporting to

external organisations as required.

• Leading on the development of policy, procedures and relevant service specifications for safeguarding and embedding this across all departments.
• Leading on the training and development of trustees with regard to safeguarding.
• Conducting annual service reviews and producing a quarterly report for the Board in respect of safeguarding.
• Provide a written report on a monthly basis to the Senior Management Team of MHI.
• Providing specialist safeguarding advice and training for the protection of all staff, volunteers and those who come into contact with the organisation.
• Reviewing and embedding any changes in legislation and regulatory guidance into current and new service initiatives.
• Providing strategic expert advice and direction around the protection of adults at risk and children.
• Providing reports on safeguarding to the Board of Trustees, Senior Management Team and other internal teams as required.
• Developing strong links with the wider safeguarding network within the third sector.
• Ensuring safeguarding reporting provides benchmarks for service improvement.
• Chairing the serious incident safeguarding panels, ensuring accurate decision making, reporting and recording, learning from incidents and ensuring risk assessments are completed and acted upon.
• Chairing weekly safeguarding meetings and sharing information about current medium to high risk cases.
• Supporting MHI staff and volunteers as required in all safeguarding matters and ensure all safeguarding processes are understood and embedded across the organisation.
• Overseeing the development of training to ensure all staff and volunteers have the confidence and knowledge to deal with all safeguarding concerns.
• Managing reports of any PREVENT and radicalisation concerns.
• Being the first point of contact for any allegations made against staff/volunteers.

Safeguarding Manager

The Safeguarding Manager reports to the Head of Safeguarding and is responsible for:

• To deputise for the DSL when they are unavailable and to be the point of contact for any member of the organisation as needed, regarding safeguarding concerns.
• Contribute to developing and reviewing MHI’s safeguarding and child protection policies and procedures.
• Along with the Head of Safeguarding, to advise on the appropriateness of referrals to be made to the Local Authority Designated Officer when any safeguarding concerns are raised regarding a member of the MHI workforce.
• Line management of the DSO and DDSO teams.
• Overseeing and advising on safeguarding practice across MHI and its services. In particular, leading on safeguarding practice by its clinical and service user facing staff and volunteers.
• Overseeing the monitoring of safeguarding reports made to the Safeguarding Panel and ensuring that safeguarding processes are followed accurately.
• Ensuring that any external safeguarding referrals are made and any other necessary actions taken within 24 hours of a safeguarding issue being reported to the Safeguarding Panel.
• Alongside the Head of Safeguarding, contribute to ensuring that everyone working or volunteering with or for children and young people at MHI, including the board of trustees, understands the safeguarding and child protection policy and procedures and knows what to do if they have concerns about a child’s welfare
• Ensuring that adequate support is available for the clinical team and promoting the welfare of service users, staff and volunteers
• Acting as a point of contact for staff members to access any support or advice pertaining to safeguarding queries
• Updating policies and procedures in line with updates and changes to legislation relating to any aspect affecting the delivery of service and service users
• Supporting the Head of Safeguarding in delivering training and disseminating information and changes in practice and policy
• Contribute to regular reports to MHI’s board of trustees on issues relating to safeguarding and child protection, to ensure that child protection is seen as an ongoing priority issue and that safeguarding and child protection requirements are being followed at all levels of the organisation
• Finding innovative ways to ensure that safeguarding is at the forefront of any interaction with service users
• Maintaining and updating safeguarding records and ensuring any external referral is completed within 24 hours of a safeguarding report being made to the Safeguarding Panel
• Supporting multi-agency work when and where appropriate
• Supporting MHI in conducting any internal safeguarding reviews

Designated Safeguarding Officers

The Designated Safeguarding Officers (DSOs) are members of the Safeguarding Panel and are responsible for:

• Deputising for Safeguarding Manager when needed.
• Overseeing and advising on safeguarding practice across MHI and its services. In particular, leading on safeguarding practice by supervisors and volunteers.
• Completing reviews of every erasure request made.. Reviewing data deletion requests to ensure that significant safeguarding concerns / disclosures are not missed / deleted. Take appropriate action to pause any data deletion requests.
• Overseeing and managing safeguarding concerns in real time as they develop.
• Ensuring that adequate support is available for the clinical team and promoting the welfare of service users, staff and volunteers
• Acting as a point of contact for staff members to access any support or advice pertaining to safeguarding queries
• Supporting the Safeguarding Manager in delivering training and disseminating information and changes in practice and policy
• Finding innovative ways to ensure that safeguarding is at the forefront of any interaction with service users
• Maintaining and updating safeguarding records and ensuring any external referral is completed within 24 hours of a safeguarding report being made to the Safeguarding Panel.
• Supporting multi-agency work when and where appropriate
• Hold safeguarding workshops and drop-in consultations for the ongoing training and support of MHI clinical and volunteer support staff. Leading internal workshops to support regular review of safeguarding best practice e.g. clinical team forums and Volunteer Support Team safeguarding workshops
• Referring cases of radicalisation to relevant external agencies as required by this safeguarding policy
• Contributing to and leading volunteer-facing safeguarding training e.g. volunteer learning / reflective practice sessions
• Working with MHI’s Learning and Development team to ensure that safeguarding training content is kept up to date

Deputy Designated Safeguarding Officers

The Deputy Designated Safeguarding Officers (DDSOs) are members of the Safeguarding Panel and are responsible for:

• Overseeing and managing safeguarding concerns throughout the organisation in accordance with assigned shifts
• Reviewing and managing safeguarding reports received from supervisors and/or volunteers in line with MHI’s safeguarding processes
• Referring cases of suspected abuse to external agencies in accordance with this safeguarding policy and supporting staff who initially reported the matter to the Safeguarding Panel.
• Referring cases of radicalisation to relevant external agencies as required by this safeguarding policy
• Supporting staff who make safeguarding reports to the Safeguarding Panel, including completing a comprehensive review of the underlying conversations / circumstances, and providing a thorough rationale back to the staff member about any action taken
• Acting as a point of contact within the organisation regarding safeguarding concerns. Liaising with the Volunteer Support Team in respect of safeguarding relating to trainees and volunteers.
• Acting as a source of safeguarding support, advice and expertise for all staff
• Supporting on the delivery of internal workshops to support regular review of safeguarding best practice e.g. clinical team forums and Volunteer Support Team safeguarding workshops
• Contributing to volunteer-facing safeguarding training e.g. volunteer learning / reflective practice sessions
• Working with MHI’s Learning and Development team to ensure that safeguarding training content is kept up to date
• Supporting multi-agency work as and when required / appropriate
• Recording and reporting any safeguarding concerns accurately and in a timely manner

Clinical Supervisors

Clinical Supervisors are responsible for:

• Supporting the volunteers that they oversee to follow all necessary safeguarding policies and procedures
• Monitoring volunteers’ practice to identify safeguarding concerns in real time
• Collaborating with the DSO / DDSO in making safeguarding reports to the Safeguarding Panel and/or directly to external authorities in accordance with MHI’s policies and procedures
• Along with the Volunteer Support Team, taking responsibility for volunteer questions and concerns in respect of safeguarding and, as needed, bringing them up with any member of the Safeguarding Panel
• Communicating to volunteers any relevant guidance received from the Safeguarding Panel in response
• Attending forums run by the Safeguarding Panel to ensure that they are up to date with recent developments

Volunteer Support Team

Members of the Volunteer Support Team are responsible for:

• Providing support to volunteers, outside of their practice, in respect of safeguarding matters and facilitating their compliance with MHI’s safeguarding policies and procedures
• Along with the supervision team, taking responsibility for volunteer questions and concerns in respect of safeguarding and, as needed, bringing them up with any member of the Safeguarding Panel Communicating to volunteers any relevant guidance received from the Safeguarding Panel in response
• Providing feedback to volunteers in respect of their practice and role where
  • a safeguarding issue has been missed and the Volunteer Support Team subsequently identifies it through their practice review process and reports it to the Safeguarding Panel
  • a supervisor has submitted an escalation in respect of the volunteer’s handling of a situation and the escalation relates to safeguarding
• Attending forums run by the Safeguarding Panel to ensure that they are up to date with recent developments

Volunteers

Volunteers are responsible for:

• Following appropriate procedures for noticing, identifying and exploring safeguarding risk and making related disclosures as needed
• Flagging any safeguarding concern that arises in any interaction with a service user to their allocated supervisor and discuss what approach to take
• Completing safeguarding training mandated by MHI